Raining Raccoons

Raining Raccoons

Once upon a time, the sky was blue and the grass was green. But one day, an evil, greedy monster called haze rampaged the cities and left its citizens trapped inside their own homes, praying to God for it to go away.

I was a toddler when I first heard of this monster. Going to school one day, the air was smoggy, so I thought it was fog. I opened the car windows to fantasize I’m the monkey king up on cloud nine. To me astonishment, my mom suddenly turned around and told me to close it immediately, saying, “it's haze!” Hearing this word for the first time, I was as clueless as a man which had never seen a car heard the word “traffic”. In Mandarin class, I’ve learnt the construction of Chinese character “haze” is rain topping the raccoon. Thus, I've envisioned haze to be raining tiny raccoons burning down my lungs.

Haze in Beijing

When this problem have just emerged, people responded with a cold, “other selfish countries don't like to see us soar, they're just lies to keep us down.” This attitude brought China to the present- a permanent sulphuric smell lingering in the air. Every breath people inhale tiny raccoons scratching, burning, destroying our lungs. The mere defence we have to fight against this monster are to wear masks which hug across our face and buy air purifiers which most people cannot afford. Air has grown to be a luxury. My morning routine has become checking the Air Quality Index every morning and praying to see a hint of blue sky. Yet everyday, I’m disappointed. The facade of lifestyle improvement and the greed for economic growth are exchanging for people’s health. The citizens can just stand beneath the shadows of pollution as the haze calls, “No one cared when I was young,But all fear me we when full grown” (Zhao, 7).